The present invention relates to conveyors in general and to in particular to elevating conveyors which can be retracted for storage.
Conveyor systems have been developed for both speedy and efficient loading or unloading of packages or containers from or to transportation vehicles or storage areas. The packages and or containers are typically not sorted or only partially sorted when they arrive and are loaded unloaded in the most convenient sequence, normally starting with those most accessible, and fed onto an elevating conveyor which delivers the packages or containers to a sorting conveyor above the working floor which distributes individual packages or containers to workstations on the working floor below, where the packages or the containers' contents may be further sorted. Because delivery of packages is not generally continuous, the elevating conveyor is typically pivoted to a horizontal elevated position, for safety and convenience reasons, to remove the elevating conveyor from the ground or working floor space when it is not in use. In existing systems a chain fall, wire drum winch, or, pneumatic cylinder is used to elevate the lower loading side of the elevating conveyor. The chain fall or other hoist rotates the elevating conveyor about a pivot mounted at the discharge end where the elevating conveyor discharges to the elevated sorting conveyor. The chain fall or hoist represents an additional cost an inconvenience and a possible obstacle to workers.